’Jesus Would Stone Homos’ Says Harlem Pastor

A Harlem pastor who called for the stoning of homosexuals via the marquee in front of his church has since clarified that although he did not intend to incite anyone to violence, Jesus would surely approve of gays being stoned.

Towleroad reports that Pastor James Manning of Atlah World Missionary Church on 123rd Street in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood has taken to YouTube to comment on his earlier call for gays to be murdered.

"I never said that I would stone homos," said Manning. "I never said that. I never said that I would ask anyone else to stone homos. I never said that. What I did say is what the Bible says, and I gave several verses within the word of God that would demonstrate why I believe that Jesus would stone homos."

Manning then quotes the predictable verses from Old Testament laws, Leviticus in particular, and interprets the story from John where Jesus said "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone," as approval for public execution. He reasons that because of this passage in the Bible, Jesus would clearly approve the execution of gays.

EDGE reported on Manning in February, when the pastor posted an anti-gay, anti-Obama sign reading, "Obama Has Released The Homo Demons On The Black Man. Look Out Black Woman, A White Homo May Take Your Man."

"There are a lot of white homosexual men that are seeking after homosexual black men," Manning to ABC affiliate Channel 7 Eyewitness News at the time.

Despite an outpouring of condemnation from Harlem residents who called it, "free speech, but hate speech," Manning has continued to post inflammatory rhetoric on the church marquee.

Learn more about his views on gays and the church in the YouTube video below.

Winnie McCroy is the Women on the EDGE Editor, HIV/Health Editor, and Assistant Entertainment Editor for EDGE Media Network, handling all women’s news, HIV health stories and theater reviews throughout the U.S. She has contributed to other publications, including The Village Voice, Gay City News, Chelsea Now and The Advocate, and lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she writes about local restaurants in her food blog, http://brooklyniscookin.blogspot.com/

Comments

Anonymous, 2014-03-22 16:02:32

Typical ignorance. Perhaps this pastor should focus on his own community rather than one he doesn’t understand. And if he claims to understand scripture, he would actually grasp that Jesus kept company with any number of people regardless of their perceived sins.